Narang's girls hoops blog | 'Tis the holiday tourney season

December 17, 2012|By Bob Narang, Special to the Tribune

Several holiday tournaments started last week, but some of the more prestigious tourneys began this week and after Christmas.

The Dundee-Crown Tournament kicks off the day after Christmas, with four teams ranked in the current Top 20, headlined by Evanston (No. 10), Fenwick (No. 11), Naperville Central (No. 17) and Maine South (No. 20).

The Wheaton North Tournament (Dec. 26-29) has a number of up-and-coming teams in No. 19 Glenbrook South and Glenbard South, Hinsdale Central, Lyons and Wheaton North.

"There are some intriguing matchups that bring the neighborhood and rivalry factor out and teams looking for redemption," Hillcrest coach John Maniatis said.

Young and Bolingbrook head out of state to compete in Florida and Georgia tourneys, respectively.

But the best local tournament is, without question, the 16-team Montini Christmas Tournament, which starts Dec. 26 with four undefeated and highly ranked teams — No. 2 Montini, No. 3 Marian Catholic, No. 5 Rolling Meadows and No. 6 Plainfield East — headlining the power-packed schedule. The championship game is set for 8:15 p.m. Dec. 29. My prediction: A Montini-Marian Catholic championship game.

Some of the potential early matches are must-see for local girls hoops fans.

Romeoville and Plainfield East could meet on the second day. Same for Marian Catholic and Fremd, and Rolling Meadows and Zion-Benton.

"We're trying to make this tournament like the Proviso West boys tournament," Montini coach Jason Nichols said. "We've got several ranked teams and we're trying to make it better each year."

1,000-point club member: Elmwood Park senior guard Joanna Bukowinski scored 27 of her team's 35 points in a victory Saturday against St. Benedict. The 5-foot-5 Bukowinski nailed a 3-pointer in the second quarter to surpass the 1,000-point mark for her career.

Remember that day: March 3, 2007. Devereaux Peters finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Tricia Liston added 10 points and seven rebounds to lead Fenwick to a 35-27 win over Bolingbrook in the Class AA state final in Normal. That was the last time a team from the state of Illinois — besides Young — beat Bolingbrook until Morgan Park knocked off the Raiders 64-60 on Saturday in the City/Suburban Showcase at Chicago State.

Strange numbers: Vernon Hills remained unbeaten despite dealing with some problems putting the ball in the basket in the fourth quarter. The No. 8 Cougars (12-0) scored nine points in the fourth quarter in a win over Grant on Tuesday. Two days later, Vernon Hills scored four points in the fourth in a 39-36 win at Barrington. The Cougars bounced back with a 19-point fourth quarter in Saturday's triumph over Antioch.

Quote of the week: "She's a good player. It's crazy to think how good she'll be as a senior." — Joliet Catholic junior Jasmine Lumpkin on freshman teammate Nicole Ekhomu.

Check these out

No. 1 Young at Bloom, 7 p.m. Tuesday: Bloom center Bria Gaines is tough to stop inside, but Young's frontcourt is the biggest improvement over last year's team.

No. 10 Evanston at No. 4 Trinity, 7 p.m. Tuesday: Start of an emotional week for Evanston, which faces New Trier at Northwestern on Thursday.

Fremd at No. 2 Montini, 6 p.m. Saturday: A game filled with several promising guards serves a good tuneup for Montini Christmas Tournament.